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Latest Episodes:

The Ideal URL Structure for SEO | Ep. #177 Jan 24, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #177, Eric and Neil discuss the ideal URL structure for SEO. People often overlook the importance of their URL address and end up losing out on organic traffic. Tune in as Eric and Neil discuss how to clean up your URL and share their own experiences about how they improved their own URLs.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Today’s topic: The Ideal URL Structure for SEO
01:00 – Usual structure of a webpage explained
01:40 – Having a lot of categories on your URL makes it difficult for Google to crawl it
01:55 – For example: NeilPatel.com/makeup/allthemakeup
02:10 – The categories tell Google the topical relevancy
02:30 – Neil’s current URL structure
- 02:45 – There are a lot of titles and categories—this confuses Google, making it difficult to discern what category it should fall under
02:56 – Neil’s blog posts don’t rank as well as his guide
03:30 – URL should NOT be taken for granted
03:45 – Neil shares what he learned from his searches
03:52 – Less than 6% of results on page one of results have a messy URL
04:20 – Cut out sub folders if they’re not necessary
05:05 – Keep URL structures clean and use subfolders—subdomains don’t rank as well as subfolders
05:16 – The debate SEOs are having about Quora
05:39 – That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

URLs should NOT be taken for granted—It plays a big role with your organic traffic.
The more titles and categories, the more difficult for Google to crawl your URL and website.
Keep URL structures clean and use subfolders. Subdomains don’t rank as well as subfolders.

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How Topical Relevancy Can Boost Your Ranking | Ep. #176 Jan 23, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #176, Eric and Neil discuss how topical relevancy can boost your ranking. It’s important to know how your keywords and content work against and for you through Google’s ranking systems. Tune in to know how to master topical relevancy and how checking your competitors’ work can help you climb to a better rank.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 - Today’s topic: How Topical Relevancy Can Boost Your Ranking
00:34 – Topical relevancy allows the small guys to compete with the big guys
- 00:49 – Neil explains how Google ranks websites according to SEO relevancy
01:16 – SingleGrain ranks for marketing related keywords
- 01:43 – Google can’t seem to find the right keywords for Growth Everywhere which describes the stories of entrepreneurs
02:20 – It is important to have strong topical relevancy when starting your website
03:03 – Focus on a specific topic
03:35 – Being the best on one topic is what topical relevancy is about
04:20 – Market muse suggests all the phrases and terms that you should be using with your website if you want to be topically relevant
04:39 – Check similar websites in your space using SEMrush and Ahrefs Tool
04:55 – FamousBirthdays.com is about celebrity birthdays, is focused on just one topic, and drives millions of visitors
05:10 – “Always look at your competition”
05:25 – That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

Google will most likely rank a website that is SEO focused higher than the one that is marketing focused.
Focus on a specific topic—being the best on one topic is what topical relevancy is all about.
Always look at your competition—check the topics they are using and monitor their ranking.

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How to Reduce Your Bounce Rate | Ep. #175 Jan 22, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #175, Eric and Neil discuss how to reduce your bounce rate. A bounce rate is the percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away after viewing only one page. Simply put—if your page is boring, people leave, and the higher your bounce rate. Tune in to learn practical ways to reduce your bounce rate so you can keep your visitors sticking around long enough to make that sale.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 - Today’s topic: How to Reduce Your Bounce Rate
00:33 – Bounce rate is when someone leaves your site right away
00:42 – The textbook definition of bounce rate: “the percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away after viewing only one page”
00:47 – A rising bounce rate is a sign that you have a boring homepage
01:16 – First, have a good design that keep people in your website
02:03 – Removing your pop-ups can decrease your bounce rate
- 02:26 – People are more likely to stay if your website doesn’t have loads of pop-ups
- 02:48 – You might need to check if it works for you
03:10 – A slow website can’t keep people
- 03:27 – Check the page speed using Google Page Speed tool, Pingdom and Google Analytics
03:38 – Create a journey for people
- 03:55 – An example of a journey
04:37 – Have the RIGHT offers
- 04:51 – Use ConvertFlow to show different offers when your visitor comes back
05:28 – Simple readability is also very important
- 05:32 – Eric’s blog Single Grain is a good example of this
05:52 – “Good user experience means less bounce rate, people sticking on your site, going through multiple pages”
- 06:00 – If visitors go through multiple pages, it increases sales and they convert to customers
06:18 - That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

A great design creates that experience for viewers, causing them to stick around.
Create a journey for your visitors—engaging them throughout and around your website.
The more engaged people are with your website, the lower the bounce rate and a greater chance of conversion to sales.

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Which Social Media Metrics Actually Matter? | Ep. #174 Jan 21, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #174, Eric and Neil discuss the two social media metrics that actually matter. These metrics are THE indicators that show whether or not your marketing strategy is working. Tune in to find out what they are and how to improve upon your ratings.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Today’s topic: Which Social Media Metrics Actually Matter?
00:44 – First metric is the engagement rate—the number of reach of your post divided by those who shared, commented, or liked your post
- 1:03 – Engagement rate is how effective your post is in social media
- 1:15 – You can check the engagement rate in Facebook insights or to some extent, in Youtube
1:38 – Neil shares that in social media, the more people are engaged, the more likely they will buy
- 1:40 – Engagement is not about the number of fans, but how they respond to your posts
- 1:53 – For example, HubSpot’s fan page in Facebook has over a million fans but they are not engaged
2:15 – Another tracking metric is the ROI
- 2:22 – Social media marketing costs Eric 100,000/month, but he makes more than that from social media marketing
2:31 – Funding campaigns in social media marketing for ROI can really be profitable
2:40 – For people struggling with the engagement rate portion, they should look up Avinash Kaushik
- 3:07 – Avinash has posts about the engagement rate and how to measure it
3:26 – Neil also likes ROI as a metric—their Pinterest conversion rate is 2.31% and potential customers are staying longer
4:03 – Social media marketing metrics is different in different times of your business
4:35 – Set a target growth rate week over week, then adjust targets quarterly
4:54 – You may not be able to maintain that growth rate, but it can be a good measuring stick for you
5:14 – Engagement and ROI are the two main metrics
5:18 – That’s it for today’s episode

3 Key Points:

The two main metrics to focus on in social media is the engagement rate and ROI.
Social media marketing can really be profitable, as long you do it right.
Set your own growth rate and work to achieve it—adjust the rate as your business changes over time.

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How to Write a Killer Blog Post | Ep. #173 Jan 20, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #173, Eric and Neil discuss how you can write a killer blog post. Many people can slap a string of coherent sentences together and call it a blog—but, can they capture their readers' attention? Tune in as Eric and Neil reveal solid suggestions for creating a blog that will entice and hook an audience. From your title to the images place amidst your text, all these details count.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 - Today’s topic: How to Write a Killer Blog Post
00:35 – Write a great headline and continue the thought in the first few sentences to hook the readers
- 00:59 – Go to Copyblogger for the headline formula
01:15 – Think of blogging as a presentation or a classroom lecture
- 01:33 – Engage with your readers
- 01:46 – Start with a conversation
- 01:57 – Neil shares a sample conversation in a blogpost
03:08 – Use sub-headers or bullets to keep things organized
- 03:45 – Eric shares an example that can get readers hooked
04:08 – Add media to your blog post
- 04:32 – Eric uses DesignPickle for his images
04:50 – Have a conclusion heading
05:22 – All claims should be backed up by case study or research links
- 06:00 – If you have data that can separate you, the better, because it can’t be replicated easily
07:07 – Make your blog readable
- 07:17 – Design should be responsive and text should be clear
- 08:20 – Neil Patel’s Quicksprout
- 08:30 – Neil reads Tech Crunch, TMZ, CNN and other sites to give him creative ideas that he can leverage on his own website
- 09:00 – Eric checks Wallstreet Journal, copyblogger, and problogger
09:20 - That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

Blog posts are not just about the text—a catchy photo or video can entice people to read it.
Simple, but powerful—overly decorated posts can easily turn off the reader.
Read a lot and a variety or written work as this feeds your creative inspiration.

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How to Keep Your Users Engaged with Your Video | Ep. #172 Jan 19, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #172, Eric and Neil discuss how you can keep your users engaged with your video. Videos are becoming a more common way in which we share content, so how do you know if you’re doing it right? Tune in to find out some practical tips and online applications that help make your videos more engaging—and the more engaging the video, the more viewers and conversions!

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 - Today’s topic: How to Keep Your Users Engaged with Your Video
00:39 – In 2020, most content will be in video
00:46 – Live videos have become popular and the number of viewers have doubled
01:10 – Keeping your videos short can help you have a high view count, but lower conversion rate
01:28 – First, try to make your video like a story
- 01:45 – Think about yourself watching a movie
- 02:13 – “The more storytelling you do—the more emotions you leverage, the more hooks you create, the more sales you end up generating from those videos”
02:30 – Start with a video transcription or caption
- 02:43 – Rev has the ability to create video captions for you
03:15 – Have an engaging introduction
- 03:45 – You can try to check which image or intro works through Facebook ads at a cheaper price
- 04:03 – People switch camera angles to keep people engaged
- 04:29 – Ask people questions
- 04:54 – In Facebook video, you can check the number of people that are engaging
05:18 – You need good editing!
- 05:29 – Casey Neistat built a brand and sold it for $25M to CNN—CNN didn’t buy his brand but hired him and his team to be an influencer
06:15 – Talk slowly in your videos
06:48 – During live videos, use Telestream Wirecast so that you’re live on more than 1 application
07:30 - That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

In 2020, most content will be in video form—therefore, familiarize yourself with this tool.
Telling a story with an engaging intro and transcript in your video will help your audience connect with you.
Use as many social media platforms as you can to BOOST your engagement and conversion rate.

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7 Age-Old Advertising Principles that Are Still Relevant Today | Ep. #171 Jan 18, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #171, Eric and Neil discuss the 7 age-old advertising principles that are still relevant and effective to this day. Tune in to learn how the big companies like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and AT&T are still winning in the advertising world because of these key principles that you can start using today.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 - Today’s topic: 7 Age-Old Advertising Principles that Are Still Relevant Today
00:36 – First, write a great headline
01:08 – Warren Buffett tells his CEOs to always protect their brand
- 01:22 – Branding is everything and just one mistake could ruin everything
01:43 – Third, tell a story
- 01:45 – Stories or advertorials drive people and evokes their emotions
02:21 – Fourth, consistency in advertising, regardless of how large your company is or how well-known
- 02:48 – The Rule of Seven explained
03:10 – Fifth is from 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, by Al Ries and Jack Trout:
- 03:41 – The “first mover advantage”
04:18 – Sixth is from Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug:
- 04:27 – “Think about the user—simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”
- 05:00 – Keep marketing campaigns simple
- 05:10 – “The simpler your pitch, the better off you are”
05:16 – Seventh, urgency plays a big role
- 05:51 – The sense of urgency compels people to take action
06:15 - That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

In whatever decision you make, you MUST protect your brand.
Be consistent in advertising and remember the rule of seven.
RELY on these age-old advertising principles that have been proven—no need to reinvent the wheel.

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7 Advanced Marketing Automation Tactics for Your Blog | Ep. #170 Jan 17, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #170, Eric and Neil discuss 7 advanced marketing automation tactics for your blog. Marketing automation allows you to know your subscribers better and respond to their behavior. Tune in to learn how advanced marketing automation can be very helpful for your blog and what to do with those unopened emails.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 - Today’s topic: 7 Advanced Marketing Automation Tactics for Your Blog
00:36 – Marketing automation is how you market and send messages to people according to their behavior on your site
01:05 – First, on your thank you or intro email, add three different links for people to see what kind of people they are (ex. are you a beginner, intermediate, or advanced online marketer?)
01:52 – Neil shares what he learns through automation if people are opening your email, your open rate goes up
- 02:21 – If someone isn’t opening for 5 times on a paid email, take the person off the list
02:55 – Third, make sure you have a list or campaign that specifically targets your customers
- 03:34 – Map out the life cycle of your customers
03:44 – Fourth, when someone joins your email list, try buying them in or signing them up
04:25 – Fifth is lead scoring
- 04:35 – You can do this with HubSpot, Drip, and InfusionSoft
05:33 – Sixth, make your opt-in relevant to your service
- 05:47 – An example with Kissmetrics
06:47 – Lastly, if you can survey your audience, do it to create a word cloud using a tool like TagCrowd
07:40 - That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

Marketing automation is how you market and send messages to people according to their behavior on your site
Map out the life cycle of your subscribers.
Make your opt-in relevant to your service to increase traffic and sales.

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7 Steps for Running a Successful Webinar | Ep. #169 Jan 16, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #169, Eric and Neil discuss the 7 steps for running a successful webinar. Using webinars is one of the best ways to drive people to your website. Half the battle is in the preparation—and, yes, there are right ways to set yourself up for success. Tune in to learn 7 easy steps that will help you and your viewers get the most out of your webinar.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 - Today’s topic: 7 Steps for Running a Successful Webinar
00:45 – Masterminds and enterprise companies use webinars to try and convert people
00:55 – In a webinar, you are educating and building a relationship with your viewers
01:12 – First, have an email reminder
- 01:25 – “Just because someone registered for it, doesn’t mean that they’re going to remember”
- 01:30 – Set email reminders ahead of time
01:45 – Second, make sure you have an option for someone to register and watch the webinar within the next 15 minutes
- 02:28 – Because people are waiting, they are most likely to attend the webinar and the attendance rate can go up to 60%
- 02:38 – Neil uses EverWebinar
02:45 – Third, use paid traffic to drive more people
- 03:19 – Use it to amplify what you’re doing in your webinar
- 03:35 – Neil records his webinar ahead of time and it’s a high value production
03:50 – Fourth, use a software called TurboDial which can connect to a lot of webinar solutions
- 04:10 – For the people who don’t take action, TurboDial will send them a text message the next day
04:57 – Have some kind of marketing automation set up
05:28 – If people don’t show up, it means no conversion
05:45 – Sixth, integrate webinar software with Twilio
06:22 – Seventh, add value to the individual before your pitch
- 06:55 – Check out Russell Brunson’s book DotCom Secrets and video The Perfect Webinar Sequence
07:24 - That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

Masterminds and enterprise companies use webinar to try and convert people to buy.
Just because someone registered does NOT mean that they are going to show up—use texts and emails as reminders.
First and foremost, ADD VALUE to people—remember that they dedicated a part of day for you.

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How to Create Content that People Actually Search For | Ep. #168 Jan 15, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #168, Eric and Neil discuss how to create content that people actually search for. Creating content that grabs an audience and attracts visitors requires some effort on your part, but where do you start? Tune in to find out what drives people to keep reading and how you can create content that is worth the search.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 - Today’s topic: How to Create Content that People Actually Search For
00:43 – Shawn Ellis mentions that SaaStr gets 3M visitors per month
- 01:10 – Jason gets asked on Quora and he answers the questions in his blog
- 01:30 – Check Saastr/Quora to know how Jason does it
02:04 – Use Google Keyword Planner, KeywordTool, UberSuggest, and AnswerThePublic.com for keyword research
02:47 – If you have a team, grab them and ask to brainstorm on a certain topic
- 03:15 – You hire a team for a reason
03:30 – Neil shares information from Jason Lemkin’s Quora Q and A blog
- 04:29 – Neil checks Jason Lemkin’s website visitor count
- 05:08 – Use Market Muse to upgrade your content
05:29 – Google is looking for topic relevance
05:40 – Look at your search feature
- 05:55 – A chat feature like Intercom helps you to see what people are searching
- 06:05 – Survey your audience and check your top performing posts
06:30 – “Creating cornerstone pieces of content is what generates the most traffic”
- 07:12 – Wikipedia is a good example
- 07:40 – Don’t just create content, creates amazing cornerstone pieces of content
08:05 – Eric shares why OkCupid's blog stands out
- 08:28 – Think about a unique spin that can make you stand out
08:38 – SaaStr is getting more than 1 million viewers, but maybe not 3M
09:52 - That’s it for today’s episode!